Combination wrench and vise



Nov. 4, 1952 E Y 2,616,319

COMBINATION WRENCH AND VISE Filed Nov. 16, 1948 f ll Lou/.5 LI MA Y INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE COMBINATION WRENCH AND VISE Louis Le May, Plunkett, Saskatchewan, Canada Application November 16, 1948, Serial No. 60,258

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in wrenches, and more particularly to a wrench also capable for use as a vise.

It is one of the principal objects of the invention to provide a wrench of this character wherein movable jaws are formed with extensions pivotally connected with links to form a toggle joint. The links are operable by a traveler block movable Within a frame and actuated by a threaded shaft. By this arrangement an equal pulling force is applied to both jaws in drawing them toward each other instead of against a single jaw moving toward a fixed jaw as heretofore. The great pulling power applied to the jaws by the threaded shaft renders the wrench capable of use as an efficient portable vise.

Another object is the provision of a wrench wherein the jaw elements are readily detachable for replacement by jaws of different shapes and sizes, thereby rendering the wrench usable on a wide variety of work to be dealt with.

These and other objects will appear as my invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification illustrated in the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure l is an elevation of a wrench made in accordance with my invention and with a fragment broken away for convenience of illustration.

Figure 2 is an edgewise view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional end view taken approximately along the line 33 of Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing:

The main body of the wrench is in the form of a frame, generally indicated at I, and comprises a pair of spaced apart parallel plates 2 and 3, each longitudinally slotted as at 3A for a portion of its length. The upper end of the frame is apertured to receive a pivot pin 4 by means of which a pair of movable jaws 5 and 6 are swingably attached to the frame. The lower end of the frame terminates in a base having an internally threaded bore 1 through which extends an externally threaded actuating shaft 8. The outermost end of the shaft is formed with a squared portion 9 which is apertured as at In to receive a removable actuating rod or handle H. The opposite end of the shaft 8 is reduced in diameter and journaled through a cross-head l2 slidably mounted between the plates of said frame member and which bears against a shoulder 13 formed by the reduced end of the shaft. A removable pin It extends into one side of the cross-head but not into the shaft 8 and is slidably embraced by the slot 3A formed in the plate 2 of the frame. A similar guide pin l4 extends into an opposite side of the cross-head. The crosshead is retained on the reduced end of the shaft by means of a collar l5 secured as at I6 to the reduced end portion of the shaft. To the outer ends of the crosshead l2 are pivotally attached a pair of toggle links I! and I8 by means of pins 19. The opposite ends of the links I! and 18 are pivotally connected by removable machine screws 20 with companion toggle links 2i and 22 formed as integral extensions of the movable jaws 6 and 5 respectively. Both pairs of toggle links are movable between the plates of the frame.

The shaft 3 is provided with a left-hand thread so that rotation in a counterclockwise direction will cause the traveler block or crosshead l2 to move upwardly within the frame with a resultant spreading of the extensions 2| and 22 and their respective jaw portions 6 and 5. It will be noted that the pivot points provided by the screws 20 are offset from a line drawn from the pin 4 through either pin [9.

Opposite rotation of the shaft 8 in a clockwise direction will draw the traveler block [2 downwardly toward the base i with a resultant drawing together of the jaws 5 and 6 by pulling forces applied equally to both jaws.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

I claim:

A combination wrench and portable vise, comprising in combination, an elongated frame formed of two spaced apart parallel plates terminating in a base having a threaded aperture therethrough, a pair of movable jaws pivotally attached to one end of the frame by a common pivot pin, a rotatable threaded shaft extending through said base, integral extensions formed on said jaws and partially movable within the space between the plates of said frame, a traveler block engaged with the shaft and movable within and lengthwise of said frame upon rotation of the shaft, a longitudinal slot formed in at least one of said plates of the frame, a pin carried by said traveler block and slidably mounted within said slot, 8. pair of links partially disposed between said plates of the frame and pivotally connected at one of their ends to the ends of said jaw extensions, the opposite ends of the links being pivotally connected to said traveler block to form two toggle joints whereby movement of the block lengthwise of the frame by rotation of said shaft will open and close said jaws with respect to each other, and said pivotal connections of the jaw extensfonsto 'tli'e'links being ofiset at all times from a line'drawn through said pivotal connection of the jaws to the frame and the pivotal connections of the links to the traveler block.

LOUIS LE MAY.

4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 570,934 Kritcher et a1 Nov. 10, 1896 640,308 Koch Jan. 2, 1900 1',019,689 Nelson Mar. 5, 1912 10 1,860,462 Johnson I May 31, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 7 Country Date 23,317 Great Britain Nov. 5, 1898 

